By Alethia Kasben
Managing Editor
Posted: May 30, 2023 9:54 AM

A clear message during the 2022 campaign for Proposal 3 creating a right to abortion in the Constitution centered around its lack of impact on parental consent laws, but now advocates want to see changes.

Legislation in previous terms introduced by abortion-rights advocates would have repealed the state's parental consent law. Now that Democrats hold the gavel and slim legislative majorities, it is unclear if they will pursue changes or an outright repeal of the requirement.

Abortion opponents don't want to see the law changed and have released polling they say shows broad support for parental consent laws in the state.

"Rather than push dangerous and unpopular policies that prioritize the abortion industry over women and children, we encourage the Legislature to allocate its time and energy to issues that promote the common good and uphold human dignity," Michigan Catholic Conference Policy Advocate Rebecca Mastee said in a recent statement.

These opponents, including Right to Life of Michigan, also point to supporters of the Reproductive Freedom for All campaign insisting during the 2022 campaign that the constitutional amendment would not invalidate parental consent.

Rep. Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia) said in a recent interview the issue is much more complicated, and not every minor has a trusted adult as their parent. Sometimes there is abuse or incest at play, she said.

"A majority of children and minors have a trusted adult that is their parent," Pohutsky said. "That is not the reality for every minor in this state."

The leader for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan, which supports a repeal, said foster children in particular get caught up in the legal system since it's harder to get consent from a parent. The group is calling on the Legislature to remove barriers to access.

Current law requires one parent to consent to a minor receiving an abortion with the ability to receive a judicial bypass from a probate court. It dates to 1990 when Right to Life of Michigan collected sufficient signatures from registered voters to put the proposal before the Legislature, which passed the parental consent law to avoid then Governor Jim Blanchard's veto. Blanchard had vetoed a similar bill earlier that session.

In 1990, it was a Democratic-led House that passed the law 61-40. At the time, Democrats who supported abortion rights were floating a proposal that would have allowed other family members, including siblings over the age of 25, aunts or uncles, to provide consent. During that era, there was a sizeable contingent of Democrats opposed to abortion and a bloc of Republicans supportive of the legal right to abortion.

Others have tried to make changes since it originally passed. In 2004, the Republican-led Legislature attempted to make changes around the judicial bypass process, with opponents saying it would make it almost impossible. Former Governor Jennifer Granholm vetoed the bill, and the House twice failed to garner enough votes to override the veto.

Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan Executive Director Nicole Wells Stallworth in a statement said forced parental consent harms young people in foster care and those who fear abuse or being kicked out of their house if they are pregnant.

Further, she said voters support broad protections for reproductive freedom and want to ensure residents can make decisions about their health and bodies without political interference.

"The Legislature must follow through on this mandate and take action to remove barriers to abortion access," she said in a statement. "Michigan's parental consent requirement is particularly harmful to young people who do not have a safe and supportive parent in their life. At Planned Parenthood, we hear from teens in foster care who do not have contact with their parents and are forced to navigate a complex court system to access abortion. We also hear from young people who are afraid they will face abuse or be kicked out of the house for disclosing their pregnancy. Forced parental consent requirements make it more difficult for these vulnerable young people to access necessary abortion care, leading to delays and greater risks to their health."

Pohutsky is working on legislation to repeal what advocates call "trap laws," which she said limit access to abortion with unnecessary restrictions.

This could include parental consent. Pohutsky noted previous iterations of legislation she has backed repealed the requirement.

However, she said conversations are ongoing to attempt to get all members on board.

"It certainly has an impact," Pohutsky said when asked if repealing the parental consent law would be a tough vote for members in swing districts.

"And that is why education is one of the biggest things we can be doing right now," she said.

Pohutsky said the problem with parental consent is not all minors have a trusted parent they can talk to or from whom they can get consent, especially in the cases of abuse or incest.

"Obviously we want every minor to have a trusted adult to help them go through complicated and sometimes frightening situations," she said.

Further, the judicial bypass process is "incredibly burdensome," she said.

The ACLU of Michigan, part of the coalition that pushed the Reproductive Freedom for All amendment, supports repealing the parental consent law.

"While most young people do talk to a parent when facing a pregnancy, not every young person can. Those who don't feel safe discussing their pregnancy with a parent generally disclose it to another trusted adult," ACLU Communications Director Ann Mullen said. "Forced parental consent harms Michigan young people. Young people should have the support and information they need to make important decisions that are best for their health, lives, and futures."

Mullen noted the American Medical Association, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Society for Adolescent Medicine and the American Academy of Pediatrics oppose parental consent laws.

An American Academy of Pediatrics statement on the issue says: "adolescents under the age of 18 years of age should have the right to receive legal and confidential medical and surgical abortion care and counseling. The policy statement recommendations have remained consistent since AAP first published them in 1989. Most teens voluntarily involve their parents or trusted adults in decisions regarding pregnancy termination; others are encouraged to do so, if safe and appropriate."

Governor Gretchen Whitmer earlier this month attended a Planned Parenthood lobby day in Lansing where the organization expressed its want for the parental consent law to be repealed, the Michigan Advance reported.

A spokesperson for the governor last week didn't directly answer if Whitmer supports changing or repealing the requirement for parental consent.

"Governor Whitmer believes Michigan needs to be a state where everyone's rights and freedoms are protected," Whitmer Communications Director Bobby Leddy said in a statement. "When the U.S. Supreme Court upended 49 years of precedent, Michiganders faced a draconian law from 1931 outright banning abortion without exception for rape or incest and doctors and nurses faced jail time for simply doing their jobs. That's why Governor Whitmer immediately took action to protect these rights in Michigan using the standard that had been in place under Roe v. Wade for the last 49 years. This is the same standard that the vast majority of Michiganders support, and the governor will continue to stand up for this right."

Earlier this month, the Michigan Catholic Conference released polling it commissioned from Marketing Resource Group that asked voters if they supported a requirement for parents to consent to their minor-aged child having an abortion. The polling indicated 67 percent supported parental consent.

The group also said 63 percent of voters support 24-hour waiting periods and 90 percent support abortion facilities being licensed and inspected for health and safety reasons.

Pohutsky said there are some unnecessary restrictions on abortion facilities, like requiring them to be freestanding clinics that could be among the "trap" laws the Legislature pursues repealing.

"Lawmakers must decide if they stand with a majority of voters who support reasonable guardrails such as parental rights, informed consent, and health and sanitation standards for abortion facilities," Mastee with the Catholic Conference said. "Even pro-choice voters and those who supported Proposal 3 last November have made clear that legislative protections for parents, women and children should remain in place."

Genevieve Marnon with Right to Life of Michigan said the group supports the rights of parents to be involved in their minor child's decision about whether to have abortion.

"The ACLU and Planned Parenthood are at odds with parents and their rights," Marnon said.